Polka - The Red Hand
Copyright Bill Black (www.capecod.net/~bblack)
Tabbed by Aidan Crossey
Being from Northern Ireland, I have a collector's fascination with any tunes with a
Northern Ireland connection. (The Red Hand is an emblem associated with the O'Neill clan and
thereafter, by extension, to Ulster itself. There are a number of stories as to how the
emblem came to be associated with the O'Neills. One goes that two clan chieftains took
part in a swimming race from Ram's Island in Lough Neagh to the Tyrone shore. The
chieftain who touched the land first was to be granted sovereignty over Tir Eoghan - which
included the present-day County Tyrone, plus parts of County Derry and County Donegal. The
O'Neill lagged a very short distance behind his opponent and, observing the latter about to
leave the water, cut off his own hand and threw it ashore, thereby claiming Tir Eoghan
for the O'Neill clan.)
I also have a lot of time for Bill Black's music and am determined to get a good
selection of his work published on the mandolin café! Visit his website - I'm sure you'll agree
that his output has a lot going for it.
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